Manic Monday

Big things happened this week! Well, we were in Austin for 24 hours, so how could they not? Aaron and I went dancing (two stepping) when we were first dating. We went to one of my favorite places in Cave Creek called the Buffalo Chip. Sadly, it has burnt down since then. But, we used to go all the time with friends, with my family, just us two. It was actually the first date we had when Aaron asked me to be his girlfriend. We loved it. They had a live band that played country music and we would dance the night away. Then, when we got tired, we would go outside to watch the live bull riding and the mutton busting! SO great! Anyways, we hadn’t been dancing since before marriage. And, while we were in Austin, we went to the Broken Spoke. It just sounds authentic, right? It was wonderful. Red and white checkered tablecloths covered the room, with a dance floor in the middle, where you would dance about a foot away from the band. It was so fun! It made me so happy. I hope we can find some more places like that to enjoy together. But, what made it even better were the people we were with. Dylan and Jimmy are two people that Aaron works with at Wrangler, and I just love getting to hang out with them. They are fun, hilarious, and up for anything.

After Austin, I flew off to Phoenix to photograph a rehearsal dinner and wedding, take some headshots, and hang out with my long time friend, Brookelyn, and my wonderful parents! We had so much fun, but it was probably one of the quickest trips I’ve had back to Phoenix in awhile.

All because… I came back for a Sunday afternoon pool party at our house with our Life Group. After searching Aaron and I landed on a church called LakePointe. It took us a long time to find a Life Group, but when I found out Michele (of Vintage Home- who I take photos for) was going to lead a Life Group with her husband, we figured it would be a good time to join. It makes it easier to join when you know everyone is new. What we all started to realize as we talked to each other was that we were all newly married, most of us in a newish place and without friends. We were lonely and we needed community.

What I have become extremely aware of this week is how important people are in your life. I have always loved my friends and family, but recently I have watched friends go through some really tough things. Things that no one deserves, things that would be almost impossible without someone to pray for you, to share similar struggles with, and to just be there. You never know what people are going through either since we all have different ways of dealing with things. You may see someone every day and not know that their marriage is having issues, or you may hear every detail of every aspect of someone’s life and think you know that they are fine, but really you are just getting the highlights and there are struggles that are unmentioned. Whatever it is, we need community. We need to be there for each other. Without people, we are just selfish. We are doing what we need to do, how we want, when we want, and we are not focusing on others. But, there is so much joy in focusing on other people. There is a fulfillment and a value to loving on others and being there for them, praying with them, and even eating burgers and swimming with them! I hope you enjoy those around you this week!